A Winnipeg family is looking to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single mother who lost both legs and an arm to a rare form of strep throat.

Loretta Kirkness said her daughter Cari, 28, thought she had the flu last February. When she went to the emergency room at Health Sciences Centre to get medical help, she found out she had Group A Strepococcus, a rare type of bacterium that can cause different infections.

"I realized it was serious when the doctor told me I might lose my arm,” said Cari Kirkness from her hospital bed.

Within 24 hours of checking into the hospital, Cari was told they needed to amputate her arm and one of her legs due to complications from the infection.

After the amputations, Loretta said Cari’s organs started to shut down. She was put into a medically induced coma, and placed on life support and dialysis. Loretta said medical staff then noticed discoloration on Cari’s other leg.

“They told us we had 15 minutes to decide if we wanted to amputate her other leg or let her go,” Loretta said. “There was no decision there. Obviously we chose life.”

After the amputation, Loretta said Cari began to improve. She is currently out of the coma and is recovering at the hospital. Next, she’ll go through a rehab program.

"There's no reason to feel sorry for yourself, because it won't change.” said Cari. “This is it, this is the life I was given."

However, the single mother of an 11-year-old and a two-year-old boy has many financial challenges ahead of her. Loretta said Cari will move in with her when she is eventually discharged from the hospital. However, Loretta said the home is not accessible for her daughter.

“It has a sunken living room. There are no ramps, and lots of doors,” Loretta said.

Loretta said she will need to eventually buy a new home to accommodate Cari’s physical needs and her children.

“I have to start thinking about her future and her children’s future and ensuring she has a good home, where she’s well looked after and everything is looked after,” Loretta said.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with the immediate financial challenges Cari will face. Loretta said they hope to eventually raise enough money for a down payment on a new home that is wheelchair accessible.

Despite the difficult month, Loretta said her daughter is remaining strong.

“She’s trying to have a positive attitude. She is happy that she lived, because she fought hard for her sons,” Loretta said.

With files from Jon Hendricks.